Limmatfeld, Zurich

Rapidsquare

Details
Clients
Halter Immobilien
Type
District
Collaboration
Atelier Prof. Hans Kollhoff GmbH
Period
2003 - 2014
Status
Realised
Area
4 400 m²
Country
Switzerland
The landscape design incorporates the central idea behind the urban planning concept: A clear distinction between public and private space, and a precise definition and heirarchization of different typologies of outdoor areas. Along with the streets, squares and courtyards, the quarter’s park and gardens, there are front yards and promenades.

The streets, with their trees and front gardens, play a central role for the character of the quarter. The courtyards are primarily relevant for their respective residential blocks and are more aligned with the formal and functional specifications of the adjacent buildings. The streets not only function as traffic routes, but also as consistently designed green spaces. They vary in their importance for the area and are embedded in a hierarchy. This hierarchy of the streets and planted areas is demarcated by different planting structures, tree species, height levels, hedges, by stairs and entryways. Unmistakeability and local identity are key here. Nuanced vegetation in the courtyards underlines and complements the principles and stipulations of the urban planning concept. The courtyard gardens consist of lawns and deciduous trees, while the buildings range from enclosed office blocks to partially open blocks with service providers and residential properties, to purely residential blocks with open borders. This shift in the scope of the urban texture also continues in the courtyards. Each yard has an independent design, but this bears great similarity in adjacent yards running from north to south, while shifting from urban and formal to scenically landscaped and horticultural towards the Limmat, in a line from east to west.